Read Hardcore: Volume 2 for Free Online

ever say no to milkshakes.”
    “Good. I’ll meet you at the usual spot. Are you going out tonight?”  
    “Nope. It’s midterms. I’ve got a Chem test tomorrow, so my plans this evening won’t exceed coffee, yoga pants, and my study mix.”
    I smiled. “All right. We’ll talk tomorrow at the diner.”
    “Okay. Well … I guess give me a call if you need to freak out in my general direction again.”
    “Sounds good.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Love you, Jilly.”
    “I love you too.”
    I hung up and tossed my phone on the bed, scrubbing a hand over my face. “She’s okay. This is going to be okay.”
    “Is it?” Erin’s lips tugged into a frown.
    “I just have to make sure I know where she is. The times she’s vulnerable are on her way to and from school. She’s home for the night, and tomorrow she’ll go straight there. If she’s late, the office will call me, and after she gets out, I’ll take her to the diner and walk her home. If I can do the same the next day, she’ll be fine. And after that, it’ll be over.”
    “What if you tell Jill? You don’t have to tell her everything, but if she’s on board, there’s a better chance that she’ll be safe.”
    “No. She’ll start asking questions. It’ll turn into a fight, and then she really won’t listen to me. This whole thing will be in danger of crumbling if she and I aren’t on the same page. I can’t afford to upset her now, so fucking drop it. Please, Erin.”
    Erin stared at the rug in the middle of the room. “I just … I can’t believe this.”
    I shook my head. “I told you. I knew she wasn’t going to let this go. I have to stick to the plan, Erin.”
    “Do you think she’ll let Jill go when it’s over?”
    “I have to believe that. She might hang on to Jill if she were doing all this entirely out of spite, but she just wants that money. Once she gets it, she doesn’t need leverage over me.”
    She met my eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry this happened.”
    I pressed my lips into a sad smile, shaking my head. “Let’s just get out of here.”
    “Tonight or forever?”
    “Both.”
    Erin nodded. “Want to run to your parents’ and check on Jill? We don’t have to go inside. Maybe we can figure out who’s watching her.”
    I nodded, not wanting to be in the loft for another second.
    We pulled on our boots and walked out the door. The second it closed behind me, I could breathe for the first time in an hour. I pulled on my buff and flipped my hood, wanting to disappear into the cover of the night as we ran the blocks to my parent’s apartment.  
    We stopped across the street and leaned on the ledge of the roof. Jill sat at her desk, studying with earbuds in and her black hair in a big knot on top of her head. Just seeing her set my mind at ease, for a moment at least. Until I remembered someone was following her. I scanned the street, looking for anyone still, anyone suspicious, but found no one.
    I wondered if whoever it was might be in the shops below us, watching the door from a spot less conspicuous. I told Erin as much, and we took to the street, splitting up to search the shops, but it was fruitless. I wasn’t even sure what we would have done if we’d found the stalker. Beat the fuck out of him. Offered him more money than Jade. Anything.
    We stayed out until I was almost too tired to stand, and even then, I didn’t want to go back to the loft, wasn’t ready to see Jade or anyone else.  
    Just a little bit longer, I told myself. Just a few more days until I would walk away from it all forever.

I SPENT THE ENTIRE next day at work, worrying over Jill as I rode around Manhattan making deliveries, trying to find comfort in the fact that she was at school where she was safe. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.   Just because I’d agreed to help Jade didn’t mean I was sure she would leave Jill alone. The thought of someone following her made me sick.
    So I went through the motions of my job,